God has promised us a time of visitation as recorded in Zechariah 10.
In my last post and the one before it, I wrote about God’s promise to restore us and how God is bringing us to a time of blessings and celebrations.
Stirred to Good Deeds
By now I am sure you can tell I am currently excited about the book of Zechariah. Well, I have the Senior Pastor of my church, Kola Taiwo to blame for that.
You see, Pastor Kola is a man full of the Holy Spirit, Grace and Wisdom and he decided we should revisit the book of Zechariah this season. His teachings as well as the insights gained during discussions at my Cell Group meetings, sparked my recent articles based on parts of the book of Zechariah.
In fact, the last series I ran, God in the Midst of the Storm, was triggered by a message Pastor Kola preached on Psalms 91. This message inspired me to write a couple of articles on some attributes of God. But the Lord said to me “why not make it 30”? So I ended up writing about 30 attributes of God in the midst of a storm.
Pastor Kola – one of the kindest, humblest and unassuming men I have the privilege of knowing – is a great example of someone who spurs others to love and good deeds as recommended in Hebrews 10:24.
God Sends The Rain in the Time of Visitation
Back to this post – A Time of Visitation!
In Zechariah 10, the prophet Zechariah talks about how God will visit us – if we ask Him. In Zechariah 10:1 NLT the prophet encourages us to:
Ask the Lord for rain in the spring,
for he makes the storm clouds.
And he will send showers of rain
so every field becomes a lush pasture.
Wow!!! Isn’t God just amazing?! Even the clouds are for our benefit – because they are pregnant with rain (of blessings, peace, joy and prosperity).
Furthermore, the clouds will eventually disappear when the Lord visits us with the rain of His presence. Amen!
Let us spend some thinking what might happen when God visits us by blessing us with His rain.
1. His Presence remains with us
We all know that when it rains on fields, the plants thrive and bear fruit.
When God visits us with the rain of His presence, we thrive in all our endeavours and bear much fruit.
But what is this rain?
Pastor Kola says it is the Loving Presence of God.
A lovely lady in my Cell Group says it is the Holy Spirit.
I think the rain could also be the Word of God.
The Bible proves all these perceptions are correct as recorded in 1 John 5:7:
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
We know that God, His Word and the Holy Spirit are one and the same.
For Christians who have a personal relationship with God, the Holy Spirit, who is actually God, lives with us and is in us as promised by Jesus in John 14:17b.
If God the Holy Spirit lives in us, then He is present with us, which means His Presence is always with us.
When we ask the Lord for (the) rain (of His Presence), the rain (presence of God) comes and soaks us, leaving a lasting impact on our lives.
When the Rain comes, God not only blesses and visits us, but He also blesses us with His Abiding Presence.
2. His Presence make things thrive
I believe that when we ask for rain as we are encouraged to do in Zechariah 10:1, we are asking that the Presence of God will be with us.
And when the presence of God is with us, He guides us and leads us in the way that we should go. He also grants us the wisdom and mercy we need to excel in ALL our endeavours.
Zech 10:1b says that when the Rain comes, our fields become “lush pastures”.
What is the Field?
I believe that “fields” are the things that are important to us – our health, our families, our marriages, our relationships, our wealth/livelihoods – which could include our ministries, our passions, careers, and businesses.
God promises that when we give up on our own wisdom and ask Him to step in, He will send His rain – His Word, His Spirit of wisdom, His Loving and Abiding Presence – to water our fields and make us thrive and be fruitful in everything we do.
3. He cleanses us with His Words
I think it is a good idea to properly examine what The Rain does.
One of my sisters at Cell Group said the Rain washes and cleanses.
I am reminded of the scripture in Ephesians 5:26 that reads:
“to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,”
The Bible therefore alludes to the fact that the Word of God is like water – or rain if you like – that cleanses us and washes away impurities in our minds, bodies, and lives.
When the Lord visits us, He brings us words of comfort, healing, encouragement, correction and instruction.
His words – water – cleanse us from impurity, unpleasantness and failures around us.
The Rain cleanses us and washes away anything that should not be present in our lives – doubt, fear, sickness, anxiety, depression, mediocrity, hopelessness, failures
When the Lord visits us with the rain of His presence, He cleanses our minds and washes away impurities from our lives.
4. We are Translated from Sheep to Horses
Zechariah 10:3 says even though we are God’s sheep, He will make us strong and glorious so that we become “war horses”.
This verse really excites me.
When the Lord visits us we also become more than we thought we could be. The power of the Lord comes upon us and we are able to stretch beyond our limitations and become what God really intended us to be.
We know that sheep do not go to battle. However horses do. Alleluia!
When the Lord visits us, He changes the way we think about ourselves and the world around us and inspires us to become all we could be.
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 NLT
When the Lord visits us, our enemies (Covid-19, sicknesses, fear, doubt, insecurity , depression , anxiety) can no longer oppress us because we are translated from sheep to horses, that trample our enemies under our feet.
5. We are refreshed
When the Rain comes, we are soaked and refreshed by His Abiding Presence. Consequently, we gain the strength to do what we thought was not possible.
In Zechariah 10 verse 8a, the prophet said that when God whistles to us, we will come running.
When I whistle to them, they will come running,
for I have redeemed them.
I believe that when God visits us, we will suddenly have the zeal and strength to do what we what we previously felt too weak or timid or insecure or inadequate to do.
When God visits us we are able to put aside procrastination and feelings of inadequacies, and run the race God assigned to us with renewed zeal, confidence and competence.
6. God prospers us
As the Lord visits us and we gather the courage to do and be all God has called us to do and be, God begins to prosper us beyond our imagination.
From the few who are left,
they will grow as numerous as they were before. Zechariah 10:8b
When the Lord visits us with the rain of His presence we enter into a season of increase and prosper in all that we do.
Ask the Lord for rain in the spring,
for he makes the storm clouds.
And he will send showers of rain
so every field becomes a lush pasture. Zechariah 10:1 NLT
7. We conquer new territory
Verses 10 – 12 of Zechariah 10 really encouraged me.
I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.
I will resettle them in Gilead and Lebanon
until there is no more room for them all.
They will pass safely through the sea of distress,[d]
for the waves of the sea will be held back,
and the waters of the Nile will dry up.
The pride of Assyria will be crushed,
and the rule of Egypt will end.
By my power[e] I will make my people strong,
and by my authority they will go wherever they wish.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
When God visits us, we no longer have to live in fear. Instead, we are able to deploy the boldness to start new businesses, take up new hobbies, pursue our passions, support great causes, show up in places we couldn’t before, and do what we couldn’t dare before, because the presence of God makes us strong and courageous.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NIV
8. God Stands by us and Delivers us from Distress
As highlighted in Zechariah 8: 11, when the Lord visits us He ensures that we are not consumed by distress – including the distress the world is currently suffering as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the social pandemic that the world has become forced to address.
When the Lord visits us, the waves of the sea of suffering, pain, discomfort, grief, anxiety and depression, are held back and God resettles us, bringing us into a new territory of peace, joy and abundance.
Verse 12 is the one that excites me the most as I am currently on the brink of a major decision.
When God visits us, we can go wherever we wish – and do whatever we deem right for us – because the Lord will get behind us and ensure that all things work together for our good.
We have come into a season of prosperity, one where the Lord changes our mindsets and delivers us from all our troubles. We have come into a season where we are empowered to do great things.
It is a time of God’s Visitation.
If you were encouraged by this post, please let me know in the Comments section, and be sure to share the post with your friends and family to encourage them too.
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